Generational Impact
Our church counts it a privilege that God has called us to be the stewards of the next generation: to invest in the young people of River Oaks from cradle to graduation and beyond. Consistently in Scripture we see that God works out his promises of salvation through the family structure as it is embedded in the local church body. No parent or guardian has all the answers, nor do they have all the spiritual gift. God places kids in a church so that they might be nurtured by the church. Each generation has something to offer each other!
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deut 6:4-7
Thus, we pursue a holistic family ministry at River Oaks that aims to grow the faith of the youngest among us so that they might know Christ and mature into Christian adults. We are convinced that all members of our church have something to offer our children and youth, AND that all our young ones have something to offer the whole church!
To find out more about our philosophy, we encourage you to work through our multi-week series entitled “Church as a Covenant Community.”
Investing in Young Lives
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What does this look like in practice? We aim to disciple children and youth through:
- Providing sound biblical instruction both in age-specific ways (e.g., children and youth-oriented classes) and in broader corporate ways (e.g., including children and youth in corporate worship and/or Adult Sunday school)
- Modeling Christian maturity through regular engagement with all the adult members of the church body
- Engaging children and youth in actively serving the body of Christ and using their gifts, so that they learn what it means to be a “real” Christian
- Encouraging and equipping them to minister to their unreached friends with the gospel